Short story

The move has also been sparked by India’s early elimination in the World T20 championship, and then their big defeat in the second ODI in Kingston against West Indies since, in both cases, the batsmen had been found wanting against short-pitched bowling.

Dravid’s return, the selectors said, also had to do with conditions in South Africa in late September, when the wickets will be fresh and a lot more conducive to fast bowling. The 36-year-old Dravid, meanwhile, is expected to return to active cricket after the IPL next week, leading India Cements in the Senior Division League in Chennai. Dravid will also be leading the side in the inaugural BCCI corporate tournament in the first week of September.

Age no bar

This decision, along with the inclusion of the 30-year old Ashish Nehra for the West Indies tour last month, is being seen as a message from the selectors that the tacit policy of preferring younger players for Team India slots may be finally over, with Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Nehra in the fray.

Even as Dravid’s return hogged the limelight, Irfan Pathan was left out of the probables. Irfan was also dropped for the West Indies tour after the World T20 championships. The selectors picked seamers Pankaj Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni ahead of the left-armer.